Blues Linked To Spurs Defender

According to a report by Colin Tattum in the Birmingham Mail, Blues will renew their interest in Spurs defender Stephen Kelly.

The 22-year-old right back, who has said he wants to play regular football and will need to move on from White Hart Lane, is seen as an ideal replacement for Mario Melchiot. Kelly said: 'For me, I need first-team football and need to play regularly whether that is at Tottenham or maybe somewhere else.'

The Republic of Ireland player, whose contract runs out this summer, nearly joined us in January for £500 000 but Martin Jol had to stop the deal when Lee Young-Pyo's father passed away and had to return to South Korea. David Sullivan did say that Blues would return for the player but all will depend on whether Kelly is prepared to move down a division in order to get regular football or whether another Premiership outfit move for him.

The report in the Mail says that Kelly, who can cover all four defensive positions; is the type of young, hungry and athletic player that manager Steve Bruce wants to populate his side with

Reports that Spurs midfielder Dean Marney is also a target are apparently wide of the mark though.